Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Covert Security, Colton’s Private Security & Twins for the Cowboy Dad by Lisa Childs

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Book DescriptionCovert Security

His past came with a reputation

Saving her would redefine his future

Hell has frozen over! Because Viktor Lagransky, the son of a former mafia assassin, is the only person who believes officer Sheila Carlson’s ambush was orchestrated by one of her police colleagues. Viktor is trying to be the best bodyguard the Payne Protection Agency has ever seen—even if the stubborn cop doubts his true motives. But when her questions about her dad’s unsolved murder lead to a new string of attacks against her, she has no choice but to trust the former bad boy she’s always been attracted to. If only her attacker—and Viktor’s own family secrets—didn’t threaten their unexpected partnership.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Covert Security has Viktor Lagransky, the son of a former mafia assassin, as the only person who believes officer Sheila Carlson’s ambush was orchestrated by one of her police colleagues. Viktor is trying to be the best bodyguard the Payne Protection Agency has ever seen—even if the stubborn cop doubts his true motives. But when her questions about her dad’s unsolved murder leads to a new string of attacks against her, she has no choice but to trust the former bad boy she’s always been attracted to.

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Book DescriptionColton’s Private Security

He let her go once.

He won’t lose her now.

Since he left the military, Mark Colton’s work as a bodyguard has satisfied his need for travel and adventure. He’s on a rare visit back home when a dangerous criminal takes a nurse hostage. That nurse is Cassidy Garner, his high school sweetheart, and seeing her in the grasp of an armed villain makes his well-honed instincts kick in. After this close call, he’s determined to keep her safe—even if that means ignoring the once-in-a-lifetime attraction they both still feel. But what if it’s his past that’s putting her in danger?

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Elise’s Thoughts

Colton’s Private Security has military veteran Mark Colton working as a body guard, which has satisfied his need for travel and adventure. He’s on a rare visit back home when a dangerous criminal takes a nurse hostage. That nurse is Cassidy Garner, his high school sweetheart, and seeing her in the grasp of an armed villain makes his well-honed instincts kick in. After this close call, he’s determined to keep her safe—even if that means ignoring the once-in-a-lifetime attraction they both still feel. But what if it’s his past that’s putting her in danger?

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Book DescriptionTwins for the Cowboy Dad

Cowboy bachelor today…

Father of two tomorrow?

Pregnant with twins, newly single Trish Dempsey hopes for a fresh start at her late father’s ranch. Trish wants to turn Four Corners into a home for her and her children, as well as a new business. There’s just one catch—Brett Lemmon and his brothers already live there, and she’ll have to convince them to go along with her plan. Rugged and hardworking, Brett is the most stubborn—and the most attractive. He put everything he had into making Four Corners a working ranch. Now he must compromise with the frustrating and beautiful Trish. The more time they spend together, the more he realizes that the real threat she poses is to his bachelor status!

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Elise’s Thoughts

Twins For the Cowboy Dad has Trish coming back to the ranch after her father’s passing, having just gone through a messy divorce. Not only did Trish come back to the ranch, she came back pregnant with twins. She had a lot of ideas on how things should be done at the ranch. Brett Lemmon and his brothers already live there, and she’ll have to convince them to go along with her plan. This was not only a romance, but there’s a mystery involved.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the book, Covert Security?

Lisa Childs: I loved writing the main characters banter. I thought of the movie “Moonlighting” with Bruce Willis and Sybil Shepherd, where they had that kind of quick, quick, witty banter. I loved that dynamic which was from the other books, and it was just like they needed their own story. The male lead, Viktor, whose dad was a hit man. He was just this terrible person. So, yeah, I wanted Viktor to get his happily ever after, for sure.

EC: How would you describe Sheila?

LC: Ambitious, tough, vulnerable, intimidating, fearless, snarky, funny, sexy, and stubborn. She has a rap as being ambitious, but she’s also on a mission to find out what happened to her dad, with people saying he was corrupt. She isn’t necessarily on a mission to prove his innocence, but to find out who killed him and the truth about his career. This has been what’s driving her more than any advancement of her career. 

EC: How would you describe Viktor?

LC: Protective, charming, and funny. 

EC: What about their relationship?

LC: There’s just that attraction between them. They’re the misfit toys, and so, they just have that cute attraction yet, he’s everything she doesn’t trust. He comes from this horrible upbringing. She’s accepted that these people have had these horrible upbringings, and wonders if they want to change, or are they capable of change.  They’re very good people but just had horrible circumstances.

EC: Colton’s Private Security, how did you get the idea for this book?

LC: There are a bunch of authors who write stories. We’re given what’s called the Bible, we’re getting called the Bible, which is a plot outline. I was given to write about a bodyguard, because I’ve written a few of them. You have points in the story that you must know about the other stories that you have to put in there.

EC: How would you describe Mark?

LC: He’s former military, so, he’s got that rigid military upbringing. He’s always kind of had the wanderlust. That’s why he didn’t want to stay in the hometown. He wanted to travel. He likes traveling and wanderers. To a certain extent he has PTSD but I think he’s aware of it, and he’s found ways to cope.

EC: How would you describe Cassidy?

LC: Very nurturing, very solid, and dependable, but unyielding and stubborn. She just wants to help her sister and raise her nephews and take care of her patients. Just a very good person.

EC: What about their relationship?

LC: We know that he broke her heart in high school, and she’s resentful of that. I don’t think she trusts him with her heart. And she doesn’t want to wind up like her sister, who lost her husband and has been struggling.

EC:  How did you get the idea for Twins for the Cowboy Dad?

LC: I loved that Brett was as the oldest brother, one of my favorite characters, because he always took on so much responsibility, even when he didn’t want to. I loved that about him. I loved his personality from the other stories. Regarding Trish, I always had an idea in my head of who she was and how much family meant to her. My dad’s a twin, so that’s why I do twins so often in my stories.

EC: How would you describe Trish?

LC: She’s just a very sweet person. She kind of reminds me of my mom’s personality where family meant everything to her. She had that nurturing personality, and she wanted the family she never really got to have.

EC: How would you describe Brett?

LC: He was also a nurturer like Trish and family meant everything to him.

EC: What about the relationship?

LC: He was very forgiving when she wasn’t there. He was best friends with her dad. So, losing her dad was hard for him. Once he met her and understood her reasons, they were able to overcome that conflict. And suddenly, she’s got twins on the way. So that was quite a leap for him to be able to take on that responsibility, but he fell for her, and he fell for them.

EC: Next books?

LC: Next April, my first cozy mystery comes out. I used to have rental properties that we rented out in Michigan. The female lead has a bookstore in this big building, and she has rental units in it, and one of her guests is found dead. So that’s the whole setup of that book. Its titled Lake Michigan Murder Mystery. I have done thrillers and intrigues, but this is the first cozy, so I’m super excited about it.

In “The Covert Security series,” the next book will be Sylvie’s story and comes out in February. It is titled, Her Secret Security.

THANK YOU!!

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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Only the Dead Within, The Cowboy’s Baby Surprise & Personal Security by Lisa Childs

Only The Dead Within, The Cowboy’s Baby Surprise, and Personal Security by Lisa Childs shows her ability to write in multiple genres. These three recent books show how diverse Childs is with her writing style because she writes thrillers, mysteries, and family-oriented stories. Only the Dead Within is the thriller, The Cowboy’s Baby Surprise is the family story, and Personal Security is the mystery.

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Only The Dead Within

Grave Diggers Book 2

Kensington Pub

Book Description

Between mysterious missing persons cases, unsolved murders, and the menacing specter of an eternally blood-thirsty grave digger’s ghost, the town of Gold Creek, Michigan, has a grim reputation, and so does the wealthy, ruthless Gold family, who run the local funeral home and cemetery—and may be behind it all . . .

Yet another teen has gone missing from the Gold Memorial Gardens, and Child Protective Services Investigator Claire Underwood isn’t giving up until she finds him. For Claire, solving the case is more than business. Years ago, she lost a friend in that cemetery.

Over time, the authorities deemed all the disappeared teens runaways, while local legend blamed the ghost of the murderous grave digger—much to the satisfaction of the Golds, also known as the “Ghouls.” Claire has always suspected the Golds were involved, including in some recent murders among their own. She went to high school with Noah Gold. He was very quiet, and very intense. Like someone with something to hide.

Noah is sick of being cast in the same light as his conniving, money-hungry family. He’s still a bit anti-social, but he’s just as determined as Clare to unearth the truth—and finally bury the legend of the grave digger. With a common goal, he and Claire join forces, but it’s a quest that puts them in mortal danger. Only with the help of the local sheriff—whose own brother vanished years ago—do they have a chance of surviving. Yet, the truth that awaits them is more terrifying than any ghost . . .

Elise’s Thoughts

Only The Dead Within tells the story of Child Protective Services Investigator Claire Underwood looking for a missing teen last seen in the cemetery. Over time, the authorities deemed that there were multiple teenage disappearances there, but it was determined that the teens were runaways since no bodies were found. But this time it is different because Tyler Hicks’ body was found by the grave digger Noah Gold who becomes a person of interest. Now he wants to join forces with Claire to find out who is behind the murder and the missing teens.

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The Cowboy’s Baby Surprise

Bachelor Cowboy’s Romance Book 1

Harlequin Pub

Book Description

A baby found in the barn means…

An instant cowboy dad!

When a baby is abandoned on the Four Corners Ranch, CPS investigator Elise Shaw drops everything to find the parents. She can’t understand why Liam Lemmon, the bachelor cowboy who found the child, first denies being her father, then claims her as his own! Elise visits the Wyoming ranch regularly to check up on them and soon starts to feel like part of the family. But her heart is getting too involved with the case…and with Liam. And when she learns the cowboy’s secret, will she be forced to take away the child they’ve both come to love?

Elise’s Thoughts

The Cowboy’s Baby Surprise opens with rancher Liam Lemmon finding an abandoned baby in his barn. Child Protective Services investigator Elise Shaw is called in to help find the parents. Elise visits the Wyoming ranch regularly to check up on Liam and baby Lucy. Elise grows closer to both, yet knows her duty is to find the missing parents.

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Personal Security

Bachelor Bodyguard Book 15

Harlequin Pub

Book Description

He’ll risk anything to protect her…

Even his heart.

Watching over Blair Etheridge as she reopens her family’s art gallery is Ivan Chekov’s first chance to prove himself as a bodyguard. He hopes it’s also a chance to start over. But this job brings up bad memories, and Blair doesn’t want him anywhere near her. Ivan overcomes her stubborn streak after an attack on her life proves she’s in danger. The undeniable attraction sizzling between them makes posing as her boyfriend easy, while the thought of losing her frightens him more than he’s willing to admit.

Elise’s Thoughts

Personal Security has Ivan Chekov hired as a bodyguard for Blair Etheridge as she reopens her family’s art gallery. At first reluctant to have a bodyguard, Blair overcomes her stubborn streak and relents after multiple attempts on her life. The undeniable attraction sizzles between them since he poses as her boyfriend.

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All three books will keep readers furiously turning the pages to find out what happens.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Idea for story?

Lisa Childs: Only The Dead Within is a thriller based on my daughter’s profession, a child protective service investigator, which is a difficult job. I wanted to use her field because I

like writing more than law enforcement professionals. I was able to speak with her to make sure I got everything correct because the heroine in two of my books works as a child protective services investigator.

The Cowboy’s Baby Surprise is a more lighthearted book after writing Only the Dead Within. It is part of my Bachelor Cowboy series. The main character, Elise Shaw, is very near and dear to my heart because of my daughter.

Personal Security is a series that has been going on for many years. This is a redemption storyline where the hero was forced to do things in his past that he is not proud of but was able to turn his life around.

EC: How would you describe your heroines?

LC: Claire is the heroine in Only the Dead Within. She is a survivor, skeptic, felt numb and sometimes dead inside, was abused, and is untrusting. Yet she is also independent, caring, strong, and can connect the dots.

Elise is the heroine in The Cowboy’s Baby Surprise. She is mistrusting, direct, kind, strong, capable, and determined.

Blair is the heroine of Personal Security. She is naïve, strong, stubborn, independent, determined, intense, and a loner.

EC: How would you describe your heroes?

LC: Noah is the hero in Only the Dead Within. He is rich and influential but has the job as the grave digger. He can be a loner, resilient, protective, antisocial, and determined.

Liam is the hero in The Cowboy’s Baby Surprise. He is caring, has integrity, tender, sociable, gentle, responsible, and lonely. He assumes responsibility for a baby left in his barn. He steps up.

Ivan is the hero in Personal Security. He has become a protector while being someone’s bodyguard. He is cautious, charming, and a survivor.

EC: How about each relationship?

LC: At first in Only the Dead Within Claire suspects Noah of murder. Yet they have in common a loved one who is missing. He sees her as vulnerable with a hardened heart and a sharp tongue and worries about her safety. After they get over their first impressions they realize the attraction.

Elise wants love and stability. She is vulnerable and I had her forward in this story. They are both avoiding their attractiveness. The baby left in Liam’s barn brings them together and shows Elise a different side of him.

Both Blaire and Ivan are attracted to each other. They have in common that because of their last name people frown upon them. Ivan teases her a lot. Blaire is very vulnerable and has built walls where she is trying to avoid a relationship.

EC: Next books?

LC: The Unknown Colton is written with multiple authors and a setting of Alaska. It will be released in October. It features Lakin and Troy. She is pursuing her dream of creating a boutique hotel without Troy until it is discovered someone is stalking her. Troy sets aside his own personal problems to help her find out who is after her.

Christmas Security is the story of Blade and comes out in November. The plot has biophysicist Dr. Priscilla Pell fearing for her life, and the life of her unborn child. Living in the mansion where she’s still unwelcome among her late husband’s family, she doesn’t know whether the threats are coming from inside or outside. That’s why she hires professional security. She’s grateful for Blade Sparks’s around-the-clock protection.

The Cowboy’s Claim comes out in December. It is Blake’s story. The story features lawyer Maci Bluff who is under a lot of pressure to win a lawsuit for the Lemmon brothers so they can stay on their beloved ranch. Yet, as the legal battle escalates, so do her feelings for cowboy Blake Lemmon.

THANK YOU!!

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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Hostage Security and A Match for the Sheriff by Lisa Childs

Bachelor Bodyguards – Book #14

Elise’s Description and Thoughts

Hostage Security is a suspenseful romance that involves a child being kidnapped. Five years ago, Josh Stafford ended his engagement to Natalie Croft after he pleaded guilty to a crime he did not commit to protect his loved ones.  As he was leaving for prison, he told Natalie that he did not love her, which devasted Natalie.  She does not want anything to do with Josh, so she never tells him she was pregnant with his child, Henry.  Fast forward to the present where Josh is out of prison and working as a security specialist for the Payne Protection Agency as a guard at Natalie’s’ family jewelry store. Now the son he never met is kidnapped. Natalie, Josh, and the rest of those at the Agency must find Henry before it is too late.

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Bachelor Cowboys – Book #8

Elise’s Description and Thoughts

A Match for the Sheriff has single mom Sarah Reynolds raising her 6-year-old son, Mikey, and taking care of the elderly ranch owner, the father of the Cassidy family. She is worried that her son may have started the fire at the ranch they were living in, but he refuses to talk to her. Marsh, the sheriff of the town, wants to get to the bottom of who started the fire or whether it was an accident. After he starts to suspect that his dad’s nurse or her son knew something about the fire, he begins to spend time with them to get answers.  But the longer he is with them the more he starts to care for them. Readers will enjoy finding out what will happen between Marsh and Sarah as well as how the fire mystery will be solved.

Both books are entertaining and will keep readers turning the pages.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Is Hostage Security the first book in a new series?

Lisa Childs: Yes. It is a continuation of my “Bachelor Bodyguard Series,” which has been going for many years.  This is the first book in the “Payne Protection Agency Series,” somewhat of a spin-off. I think there will be five books total. The two brothers heading this Agency, are connected to Penny Payne, the matriarch of the Payne family.   These brothers are a bad-boy characters that were also suspects in the first couple of books. They are Polish and I am half-Polish myself.

EC: How would you describe the female lead, Natalie?

LC: She feels helpless and does not feel like she is in control.  She is scared.  I think she is straight-forward, honest, angry, frustrated, and bitter. She is brave because she will do whatever it takes to get her child back.

EC:  How would you describe Josh?

LC:  Resentful, selfless, has made sacrifices, and he is scared for his son. He knows with hostages they must act quickly to get them back.

EC: What about the relationship?

LC:  When he went to jail, she was devasted. Her trust in him and herself was shaken. She is resentful and mistrustful. They both have lies and secrets that they have kept from each other.

EC: Did you do any research?

LC: I looked up police procedures and spent a lot of time on the FBI website.

EC:  What is the role of Henry?

LC:  Natalie did not want Henry, her and Josh’s son, to visit him in prison. As he was going to prison, he said he did not want anything to do with her, which she assumed meant nothing to do with her and her child. Henry is the something good coming from something bad.

EC: In your other book, A Match for The Sheriff does the fire plays a big role?

LC: It is an ongoing theme since no one knows how it started. Everybody was worried that Cash Cassidy, one of the brothers, started it after his lighter was found.  I was an insurance agent for over twenty years and wrote how the insurance company was dragging out the payment, where the adjuster is notorious for pushing arson charges so that he could deny claims.

EC: Is this a new series?

LC: No.  This is the eighth book in the “Bachelor Cowboy Series.”  I am writing four more books coming out in this series.

EC: Do the cowboy hats the Cassidy brothers wear reflect their differences?

LC:  Yes, they are very different. Readers can tell their different personalities by the different colors they wear with the hats.  Cash wears brown, enjoying being in nature and taking care of animals. Marsh wears white, the lawman and is the peace maker. Colton wears black, he is the fireman that must handle ashes. Collin does not wear one.

EC: How would you describe the hero, Marsh?

LC: Has a sense of humor, calm, and very observant. He felt a loss when his brother Cash went away for all those years.

EC:  How would you describe Sarah?

LC: Strong, resilient, vulnerable, compassionate, anxious, protective, and distrusting.

EC:  What was the role of Sarah’s son Mikey?

LC:  He was bullied and had a rough time in school because his dad was a criminal. Sarah is very protective of him. She is a mama-bear.  He is sensitive, quiet, shy, skittish, impressionable, and loves animals.

EC: What about the relationship between Sarah and Marsh?

LC:  She feels intimidated by him.  They are both uneasy about their feelings. Marsh can read her.  Sarah is very nervous as to why he takes a sudden interest in her. She also cares about Marsh and does not want him to lose the election because he associates with her. In a way she is protective of him.

EC: Next books?

LC:  There will be books about the Lemmon brothers.  The first book has one of them finding a baby on the ranch. It is titled The Cowboy’s Baby Surprise out in July.

Personal Security is the title of the next book coming out in May. It will be Ivan’s story where he is assigned to protect an art gallery. It was once a front for money laundering. The heroine is trying to open the gallery to honor her late dad, but someone is sabotaging her efforts.

THANK YOU!!

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Hot Shot Series by Lisa Childs

Book Descriptions and Elise’s Thoughts

The Hot Shot Series” by Lisa Childs is a two for one. There are two mysteries in each book. A threat against the hero and heroine involving their personal life, and an overriding arc that has someone sabotaging the team. Although the books are in a series, there is sufficient information given in each book that allows each to be read as a standalone. The novels have great banter, murder, deception, and some romance. There is non-stop action with one threat after another.

The latest book, Hotshot Hero in Disguise, starts out with a bang as a stove explodes setting fire to Hotshot Ethan Sommerly’s beard and hair. He is injured and taken to the hospital, where he finds out that his long hair and bushy beard have protected his face from severe burns, but now he must trim and shave them because of the burns. He goes to the beauty salon owned by Tammy Ingles who realizes after completing her work that he has been hiding his identity. Not only does the attraction between them heat up but also the threats. There are several prime candidates, and the tension ramps up as Ethan and the others try to figure out who is involved.

The book before this one, Hotshot Heroes Under Threat, has another team member being threatened, Patrick (Trick) McRooney.  He was assigned to go undercover and investigate why all these “accidents” were happening to the team.  No one knows if the threats are against him or the team. One of the firefighters, Henrietta (Hank) Rowlins is also being threatened.  People are wondering if the assailant wants Hank dead, Trick dead, or the team dead?  It seems every time Hank and trick are together, their lives are threatened.  Even though there is a major attraction between them each tries to stay apart to prevent the other from being hurt, literally and figuratively. What makes the stories heartfelt is how each member of the team eventually has each other’s back. The suspense of the story will have readers turning the pages, wondering how the danger will be stopped.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the series?

Lisa Childs: While in college my husband worked for the US Forest Department. He had gone out to fight wildfires.  When I started the series, my editor told me to make the heroes “hot shot firefighters.”  I went from there. It started as four books, but there will be twelve total books in the series.

EC:  The last two Hotshot books have similar relationships?

LC:  Yes, both heroes tried to have a hands-off attitude toward the heroines because they did not want to endanger her. They are protectors, a part of their personality to save and help people.

EC:  In your latest Hotshot book, Hero in Disguise, how would you describe Ethan Sommerly?

LC: He is mysterious, very quiet, and hides behind his big beard and bushy hair. He is a loner with big secrets.

EC:  What about the heroine, Tammy Ingles?

LC:  She is everybody’s friend, loved by everyone.  She is very supportive, blunt, funny, quick-witted, and likes to be in control of her own life.

EC:  What about the relationship?

LC:  Although Tammy is not looking for love, she is intrigued with Ethan. She enjoys flirting and teasing Ethan to see him get flustered.  There has always been an attraction between them.

EC:  Is the heroine in the book before this one, Hotshot Heroes Under Threat, Henrietta (Hank) Rowlins, like Tammy?

LC:  No, she is very much different. She has flourished in a male dominated career, especially as a Hotshot.  She is very tough, physical, and brave. 

EC:  What about the hero in Under Threat, Patrick (trick) McRooney?

LC: At first, he is resented by the rest of the team since he took the place of their beloved Hotshot teammate who died.  Plus, he is also the boss’s brother-in-law, so people feel there was nepotism involved. He needs to prove himself, that he deserves to be there. Trick also has abandonment issues because his mother took off when he was young.

EC:  What about the relationship between Hank and Trick?

LC: Hank is vulnerable and mistrusting. They dance around their attraction, partly because of the rule there can be no fraternization among teammates.

EC:  Next books?

LC:  Book 9 of this series comes out in December and is titled, Hotshot Heroes for the Holiday and is Trent Miles story with a new heroine, a detective from Detroit.

Book 10 comes out in May 2024 with the hero Rory Van Dam and the heroine, reporter Brittany Townsend.

Book 11 comes out in July 2024 with heroine Hotshot Michaela Momber and the hero, the owner of the bar. This is my 100th book for Harlequin Publishers.

Book 12 comes out in October 2024 with heroine trooper Wyonna Wells.

I also write a bunch of different series, “Bachelor Cowboys” and “Bachelor Bodyguards.” A Cowboys Justice is a Cold Case Suspense novel coming out this April, and the next Bachelor Cowboy book comes out in June, Firefighters Family Secret.

Baby Rescue Mission comes out in September with the heroine a Child Protective Services investigator. 

The “Bane Island Series” is with a different publisher, Kensington. It is a thriller. A former psychiatric hospital has been converted to a posh spa, but bodies start piling up. The final one in the series is out this October. There is a rivalry between the local sheriff and the guy who owns the spa. There is a lot of conflict

THANK YOU!!

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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Book Review: Buried Ranch Secrets by Lisa Childs

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

BURIED RANCH SECRETS by Lisa Childs is an inspirational romantic suspense with a second chance romance and a page-turning cold case investigation. This is a book in the loosely connected Love Inspired Inspirational Cold Case collection. Each book is a standalone HEA romantic suspense.

FBI agent Bethany Snow returns home for the first time in several years to spend Christmas with her parents and to decide on her future with the FBI. After being picked up from the airport, her father, the town’s sheriff, is called to the Shepard ranch where a skeleton has been unearthed. Her father asks for Bethany’s help, which she is eager to give.

Cody Shepard, after years on the rodeo circuit has returned home with his young daughter to take over the running of the family ranch when his father is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. A skeleton is discovered on the ranch and Bethany, the only woman who broke his heart that he could never forget shows up to work the case.

As Cody and Bethany work to discover the identity of the skeleton, the old connection is still there but Bethany plans on leaving again, and Cody needs to protect his and his daughter’s hearts. A chain of discoveries begin to reveal secrets from the past that an unknown killer wants to keep buried at any cost.

This is an engaging romantic suspense with a believable second chance romance and a suspense plot that kept me guessing. Cody is a responsible father, and his daughter is Molly was adorable. Bethany is an interesting heroine, who is at a point in her life where she is making decisions on her future both professionally and personally which I believe many woman can relate to. All the secondary characters are well drawn and satisfying in their pivotal roles in both the romantic and suspense plots.  The inspirational aspects of this story are a romance with no sex scenes, church attendance and volunteering, and praying for the safety of others.

I recommend this inspirational romantic suspense and I am looking forward to reading more in this collection.

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About the Author

Born one dark and stormy Halloween night, Lisa Childs was predestined to write suspense novels. She loves spinning dark and twisty stories that keep readers awake because they’re either too busy turning pages or too scared to sleep. Lisa Childs is the prolific author of more than seventy published novels. In addition to romantic suspense, she also writes women’s fiction, paranormal and contemporary romance.

Social Media Links

Website: https://lisachilds.com/index.html

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LisaChildsAuthorPage

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lisa_Childs